Checking in on the Miguel Castro for Joely Rodriguez trade results

It’s not exactly Babe Ruth for Tom Seaver but the trade between the New York Mets and New York Yankees this offseason which swapped relievers Miguel Castro and Joely Rodriguez was an impactful one.

The Yankees added a good enough arm for the fifth or sixth inning. Castro proved himself throughout the 2021 season as a member of the Mets. Rodriguez, meanwhile, went to the other borough as a possible answer for the Mets as a lefty reliever they could use.

At the midway point of the year, let’s check in on the results.

Midseason check-in on the rare Mets and Yankees trade

Rodriguez gave the Mets a first half performance that included a 0-2 record, 4.67 ERA, and 27 innings in 32 appearances. He walked a lot of guys for a rate of 5.7 per nine but also struck out a ton of batters at a rate of 11 per nine.

What we need to dive into a little bit are his splits. Is he actually getting lefties out?

Amazingly, Rodriguez has held righties to a .192/.333/.255 slash line while lefties are batting .204/.316/.265 against him. It’s kind of odd that he would have such a poor ERA despite holding two very good slash lines. In fact, he has given up only four extra-base hits all season. This includes a single home run to a right-handed hitter and three doubles to lefties.

A combination of poor yet short outings can be partly to blame. Maybe a part of it is some bad luck, too. In his most recent appearance on July 8, he allowed a leadoff single followed by a stolen base, and then a walk to put runners at first and second. A lineout moved the runner over to third and a bunt then allowed him to score. All of this chaos was done after only a single.

Over in the Bronx, Castro managed to toss the exact same number of innings in the first half as Rodriguez did for the Mets: 27. He has a 5-0 record for the Yankees to go with a 4.00 ERA. His walk rate is 4.3 per nine while his strikeouts are at 10 per nine.

Despite having a better ERA, righties have slashed .243/.377/.414 against him while lefties are at .242/.286/.364. He has given up far more extra-base hits, too. Righties alone have tagged him for six doubles and a pair of home runs. Lefties have four doubles against Castro.

It’s a pretty even matchup with Castro’s most basic of numbers leading the way but Rodriguez’s metrics showcasing how effective he has been as well. Castro’s recent injury certainly hurts the Yankees in declaring a winner. Let’s call it a draw for now and check back at the end of the season—if these two are still with their current teams and pitching regularly.